Read Online Stranger on the Shore (Mirabelle Harbor, Book 4) by Marilyn Brant - Free Book Online Page B

plunged into the beach outfitters first, deciding to explore them in order.
    Castaways had a motley assortment of very weird stuff.
    But, I had to admit, Elvis was right. There were tons of clothing items, water gear, shoes for the beach, and shoes for the water. I found the Beachwalkers in the snorkel section without a problem and was both pleased and relieved to see that they were reasonably priced. But, after I grabbed a pair of those, I was inspired to sift through some of the shop’s other wares and, goodness, what an amalgamation of items they were.
    Stacks of extra-large, extra-loud towels covered one row of shelving. One of the towels featured thick strands of purple, orange, and green swirled strangely together like some kind of ‘70s tie-dyed creation. Next to it was a huge sky-blue one that was covered with hot air balloons. Another was an unusually artistic one that looked like a picnic on the beach, with a picture of a towel on the real towel and a basket filled with goodies in the middle that was half unpacked.
    There were adult-sized goggles with leopard-print designs, flippers that were painted to resemble a duck’s webbed feet, swim trunks for men dotted with images of tropical fruit—pineapples, coconuts, mangos and...wow. Nothing like a large banana right on that front zipper, eh? I stifled a laugh and forced myself to look away.
    My gaze landed on a wall crammed with t-shirts with bizarre sayings like, “Shelling is easy. Explaining the increasingly expanding spiral of a Nautilus without using differential calculus is hard.”
    Huh?!
    Most of the other shirts were a little easier for me to understand, but still very original, smart, and funny. Maybe if Donny had been half as creative with his t-shirts, he would’ve been able to make his business take off.
    I spied a set of paintings in this shop, too, and they appeared to have been done by the same artist whose work was in The Golden Gecko. Again, beautiful, vibrant shades of teal, sapphire, cerulean, indigo, emerald, and lime—and that was just the water and sky. I studied one canvas up close and noticed it had a very loud beach towel in it. Made me wonder if the artist’s work was influenced by seeing the towels in this shop, or if the shop’s owner bought that particular painting because it had the towel in it.
    I managed to inch my way up to the busy counter, pay for my purchases, and step out of the store into the insane midday mugginess. The Beaded Periwinkle was next on my list of visits, but the stirrings of hunger and thirst took priority.
    After finding a sandwich shop and picking up a tuna wrap and a lemonade, I collapsed into a chair in the air-conditioned corner of the deli and enjoyed my lunch. The flurry of passersby and the call of seagulls I heard every time the door opened was entertainment enough.
    Afterward, I even allowed myself to wander back via Fudge Fantasia, where I waved at the teen girl who was still working there. The girl had lured a young couple into her net and was busy giving them the details of the sweets sale, but she still took a second to grin at me and say, “I knew I’d see you again!”
    Inside, it was as irresistible as I’d expected, and I walked away with a half-pound splurge of Turtle fudge and a large sample pack of some of their most popular dessert creations. This way, I’d get to try the Oreo, peanut butter, dried fruit, raspberry, caramel, French vanilla, hazelnut, almond...etc. They would make for a great dessert for weeks—if I could get them back home before they melted.
    I window-shopped a little more en route and began to feel the edges of exhaustion—the combination of the humidity and the visual overload took its toll—and I knew I ought to head back to the bungalow soon. But, when I finally entered The Beaded Periwinkle, I was glad to have saved it for last.
    I was struck at once by the sheer number of shells packed into this small space and the gazillion unique uses for them. There